Summary
At the beginning of his career, Hollywood legendJames Stewartwas seen very much as a wholesome American Everyman - his roles were often very similar, with his character serving as the audience’s relatable perspective in whatever story was being told. However, one 1950 Western completely changed the way that audiences perceived Stewart, sparking a shift in his career and ending the typecasting that he’d been subject to. Here, in one ofJames Stewart’s best movies, he playsa much darker and more complex character, going against almost everything he’d done previously.
James Stewart’s collaborations with Alfred Hitchcockare the projects that he’s most fondly remembered for, but many of these huge successes wouldn’t have been possible without the major shift that Stewart’s image underwent in the early 1950s. In fact, this transformation was so major thatit kickstarted an eight-movie trend in Stewart’s careeras he played a variety of surprising roles and collaborated with a new filmmaker, Anthony Mann, on several unexpected projects, This would create the Hollywood superstar that James Stewart is remembered as today.
This 62-Year-Old Western Was John Wayne & James Stewart’s First & Best Movie Team-Up
John Wayne and James Stewart made their first Western together in 1962, and though they worked together again, their first movie was also their best.
Winchester ‘73 Showed A Different Side To James Stewart
Stewart Starred In The Movie Alongside Shelley Winters & Rock Hudson
Winchester ‘73sees Stewart play the role of Lin McAdam, a brutal outlaw in the Old West who tracks down a group of desperate criminals who stole his precious firearm. This was a much darker, less amicable role for Stewart to play, shedding the Everyman persona that he’d adopted in earlier works and replacing it with a gritty, cynical Western overcoat. The film gathered much attention at the time of release, not just because of Stewart’s unexpected involvement, but also because of itsoverwhelmingly positive critical reception. Even today, the film holds a 100% rating onRotten Tomatoes.
This shift in Stewart’s public image continued throughout the 1950s, allowing the actor to frame himself asa much more complex, malleable character. He began to play more villains and complicated anti-heroes, and his involvement in a project quickly became a clear indicator of its prospective success. It wouldn’t be until the ‘60s that Stewart fully cemented himself as a Western star andreunited with genre icons Henry Fonda and John Wayne, but the foundations were laid afterWinchester ‘73.
Winchester ‘73 Started A Run Of Collaborations Between James Stewart & Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann Was One Of Hollywood’s Most Prominent Directors In The 1950s
Following the commercial and critical success ofWinchester ‘73, the film’s director Anthony Mann began working with James Stewart on several more occasions. Their next project wasa cinematic adaptation ofBend of the River, another Western that was released by Universal Pictures in search of the next great actor/director combo. It took several attempts for the pair to recreate the success ofWinchester ‘73, and their efforts finally paid off in 1954 when they worked together on their biggest hit,The Glenn Miller Story.
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Bend of the River
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The Man From Laramie
The Glenn Miller Storyclosely follows a big band leader named Glenn Miller, from his rise in the industry to his untimely death many years later. It was another role where James Stewart was placed front-and-center, but much likeWinchester ‘73, it wasa much more complex rolethat didn’t rely on him being likable or moral. Stewart and Mann’s collaborations continued for several more years, until the pair exhausted all the possibilities that presented themselves.
Without Winchester ‘73, Some Of James Stewart’s Best Movies Might Not Have Happened
Would Rear Window Have Been Made Without Winchester ‘73?
In addition to the greatness ofWinchester ‘73itself, the project is also indirectly responsible for many of thebest Westerns of the 1950s- many of which involved James Stewart in some capacity. It’s unfair to say thatWinchester ‘73wasthe movie that made Stewart into a Hollywood star- that honor most likely belongs to Hitchcock’sRope -but it’s certainly the one that proved to audiences that he doesn’t have to play the likable, honorable protagonist. After this, the actor was given all kinds of roles where he played complex villains, scene-stealing side characters, and standout antagonists.
[Stewart] knows how to play to his strengths with charm and charisma, but also when to step back and try something new.
Even outside of the Western genre,Winchester ‘73allowed Stewart to implement these new characters into his other works. Films such asRear Window(and his other collaborations with Hitchcock) probably wouldn’t have happened without Anthony Mann’s film coming first and proving to both audiences and studios that Stewart was a perfect fit for the character. He knows how to play to his strengths with charm and charisma, but also when to step back and try something new. This made all of his roles unpredictable, which was a key ingredient inRear Window’s success.
